Film cleaning device



Sept. '19, 1933. A. s. HOWELL FILM CLEANING DEVICE Filed April 6, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l d/fierzd 5 02/4 11 Me M Sept. 19, 1933. A. s. HOWELL 1,927,284

FILM CLEANING DEVICE FiledJXpril 6, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I K l I k9 Patented Sept. 19, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FILM CLEANING DEVICE Albert S. Howell, Chicago, Ill., assignor to The Bell & Howell Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois My invention relates particularly to cleaning devices for motion picture film although not limited to this use alone.

The general objects of the invention reside in 5 the provision of a novel, convenient and effective cleaning device which is particularly adapted for use on motion picture projecting machines for cleaning -a film during projection therefrom, and which in its preferred embodiment is in the form of an attachment for motion picture projecting machines.

With these objects in view my invention consists in certain features of novelty in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts by which the said features and certain other features, hereinafter appearing, are effected, all as fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the said drawingsz- Figure 1 is a front elevation of a film cleana ing device of my invention, with parts broken away and shown in section, showing it attached to a motion picture projecting machine;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the same;

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the device with parts broken away and shown in section;

Figure 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a of Figure 3.

Like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several views.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates one body part and 2 designates another body part, which are hinged together on a vertical axis on the rear thereof, as designated at 3, for relative movement into and out of adjacent relation. See Figures 2, 3 and 5. The body parts 1 and 2 are releasably secured in adjacent relation, as shown, by means of a spring latch member 4 secured on the front of the body part 2 and havingits free end apertured to engage over a screw stud 5 on the body part 1.

Formed integrally with each of the body parts 1 and 2 are vertically elongated fluid reservoirs 6 open at their tops, see Figure 4, and arranged on the outsides of the adjacent walls of these reservoirs are opposing vertically elongated pressure members '7, carried with respective body parts 1 and 2, by reason of the upper ends thereof being doubled back, as designated at 8, and engaged over the upper ends of the corresponding walls of the adjacent reservoirs and headed screw studs 9 passing through apertures in the lower sectional view on the line 5-5 ends of the pressure members and screwthreaded into the body parts 1 and 2.

The pressure member on the body part 1 is nonyieldingly positioned by means of projections 11 on the corresponding wall of the adjacent reservoir engaging the inner face of this pressure member, while the pressure member on the body part 2 is yieldably urged in the direction of the first mentioned pressure member by means of a leaf spring 12 interposed between the inner face of the second mentioned pressure member and the corresponding wall of the adjacent reservoir.

Wick elements 13 extend from the bottoms of the reservoirs 6 upwardly to the open tops thereof and downwardly over the outer faces of the corresponding pressure members 7 and are secured to the pressure members adjacent the lower ends thereof, as designated at 14. Absorbent cleaning strips 15 overlie the pressure members 7, with the wick elements 13 interposed therebetween, and are adapted to contact the opposite faces of a film 16 fed therebetween for cleaning the same, the wick elements 13 keeping the cleaning strips 15 moistened from suitable cleaning fiuid in the reservoirs.

Formed at the lower ends of the body parts 1 and 2 are enclosures 17 within which unused portions of the cleaning strips 15 are carried, as designated at 18. See Figures 1, 3, 4 and 5. These enclosures are open at the front, and covers 19 pivoted on the body parts substantially close the front of these enclosures, the covers being movable out of closed position for the insertion of the cleaning strips in the enclosures.

The enclosures 17 have exterior arcuate surfaces 21 over which the strips 15 pass from the enclosures upwardly between the pressure members 7, the strip on the arcuate surface of the body part 1 forming a bight forming guide for the film 16 as hereinafter described.

Rotatably mounted on the body parts 1 and 2 above the reservoirs 6 are winding spindles 22 provided with manipulating knobs 23 at the rear of the body parts for the manual rotation of the spindles. See Figures 2, 4 and 5.

The strips 15 extend from the enclosures 17 upwardlybetween the pressure members '7 and the wick elements 18 and have their upper ends secured to the spindles 22, by means of diametrical slots 24 on the spindles, so that by rotating 105 the spindles the strips are wound thereon and are consequently drawn upwardly.

Thus, as the portions of the strips 15 between the pressure members '7 become dirty from the cleaning of the film, they are drawn upwardly by rotation of the spindles 22 to bring clean or unused portions of the strips between the pressure members.

'As shown, the device-is in the form of an attachment particularly adapted for installation upon a motion picture projecting machine of the type disclosed in my U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,587,955, June 8, 1926, for improvement in Motion picture projecting machine and the like, and is conveniently attached thereon and detached therefrom in the following manner.

The body part 1 is provided with a bracket 25 which extends laterally from the rear side thereof, and this bracket is provided-at its outer end with a U-shape spring clamp formation 26 provided with a screw clamping device 27, by means of which the bracket may be, attached to an upper extension reel spindle arm 28 of a motion picture projecting machine generally indicated at 29; one of the legs of the formation 26 having a generally arcuate formation 31 engaging a cylindrical reel spindle bearing formation 31 on the outer end of the arm 28, and the other leg of the formation 26 having a stop 33 thereon engaging over the hearing formation 32 and being extended downwardly and terminating with an angle 34 engaging the intermediate portion of the arm 28. See Figures 1 and 3.

A reel spindle 35 is journaled in the bearing formation 32, and a film reel 36 is detachably mounted on the spindle for feeding the film 16 from a roll thereon to the feeding mechanism, generally indicated at 37, of the projecting machine. a

As so attached on the projecting machine, the cleaning device is positioned vertically in front of the reel 36. See Figure 1.

The body part 1 is extended upwardly and has mounted on its upper end a revoluble guide roller 38, and the film drawn from the reel passes over the roller 38 and then downwardly between the cleaning strips 15. From the bottom of the pressure members '7 the film passes about the strip 15 on the arcuate surface 21 of the body part 1, the film forming a bight thereon, to the feeding mechanism 37.

Arranged in the reservoirs 6 and cooperating with the wick elements 13 in substantially filling the reservoirs are absorbent elements 39. These elements 39 are cut away at their bottom portions adjacent the front walls of the reservoirs, as designated at 41, to form free fluid spaces at the bottoms of the reservoirs. The lower portions of the front walls of the reservoirs are provided with sight glasses 42, through which the level of the fluid at said free fluid spaces may be observed, so that the user may observe when the reservoirs need replenishing.

Fluid is placed into the reservoirs by pouring it thereinto. The wick elements 13 and absorbent elements absorb the fluid as it is poured into the reservoirs, and when they are saturated the excess fluid seeps down into the free fluid space to provide additional fluid storage and to indicate saturation of the wick elements 13 and absorbent elements 39.

The film is conveniently laced in the cleaning device by separating the body parts 1 and 2, and it will be observed that while both sides of the film are cleaned with the application of cleaning fluid thereto, the arrangement is such that the relative movement of the opposing cleaning devices is provided for in a simple and convenient manner.

While I have described and shown the preferred embodiment of my invention I do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction as changes may readily be made without departing from the spirit of my invention, but having thus described my'invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent the following.

1. In a film cleaning device the combination with a pair of body members connected for relative movement, of means normally maintaining said body members in adjacent relation, opposing pressure members on respective of said body members, film cleaning strips on respective of said body members and overlying said pressure members and adapted to engage opposite sides of a film when said body members are in adjacent relation and to separate when said body members are out of adjacent relation, and means for bringing successive portions of said strips into film contacting position including an enclosure on one of said body members carrying the unused portion of one of said strips and having an exterior arcuate surface over which said strip passes to cleaning position, said strip on said arcuate surface forming a bight forming guide for a film being cleaned.

2. In a film cleaning device the combination with a pair of body members connected for relative movement, of means normally maintaining said body members in adjacent relation, opposing pressure members. on respective of said body members, film cleaning strips on respective of said body members and overlying said pressure members and adapted to engage opposite sides of a film when said body members are in adjacent relation and to separate when said body members are out of adjacent relation, means for bring successive portions of said strips into film contacting position including an enclosure on one of said body members carrying the unused portion of one of said strips and having an exterior arcuate surface over which said strip passes to an end of said pressure members, said strip on said arcuate surface forming a bight forming guide for the portion of the film extending from one end of the pressure members, a guide roller on said body member for guiding the portion of the film extending from the other end of said pressure members, and an attaching bracket on said body member.

3. In a fihn cleaning device the combination with a vertically elongated pressure member, of an absorbent film contacting cleaning element overlying one face thereof, a vertically elongated fluid reservoir open at its top and arranged at the other face of said pressure member, and a wick element leading from the bottom of said reservoir upwardly to the top thereof and then downwardly between said pressure member and said cleaning element.

4. In a film cleaning device the combination with a pressure member, of an absorbent film contacting cleaning strip overlying the same, means for bringing dilferent portions thereof into film contacting position overlying said pressure member, a fluid reservoir, and a wick element for conducting fluid from said reservoir to said cleaning element and interposed between said pressure member and said cleaning element.

5. In a film cleaning device the combination with a pressure member, of an absorbent fllm contacting cleaning strip overlying the same, means carrying said strip for bringing successive portions thereof into film contacting position overlying said pressure member comprising means carrying the unused portion of the strip and a revoluble spindle for winding the used portion of the strip thereon, a fluid reservoir, and a wick element for conducting fluid from said reservoir to'said cleaning element and interposed between said pressure member and said cleaning element. 6. In a film cleaning device the combination with a vertically elongated pressure member, of an absorbent film contacting strip overlying one face of the same,.a revoluble spindle adjacent the upper end of said pressure member for winding the used portion of the strip from the upper end of said pressure member, an enclosure oarrying the unused portion of the strip for the feeding thereof to the lower end of said pressure member, a vertically elongated fluid reservoir open at the top arranged at the other face of said pressure member, and a wick element leading from the bottom of said reservoir to the top thereof and downwardly between said pressure member and said strip and secured with said pressure member.

'7. In a film cleaning device the combination being cleaned, and an absorbent element cooperating with said wick element in substantially filling said reservoir and providing a free fluid space therein at said sight glass.

9. In a fllm cleaning device the combination with a pressure member, of an absorbent film contacting cleaning element overlying the same, a fluid reservoir, and a wick element for conducting fluid from said reservoir to said cleaning element and interposed between said pressure member and said cleaning element.

ALBERT S. HOWELL. 

